Sign the Petition to

United States Veterans Administration

Since 1991, Birth Defect Research for Children has received calls from thousands of veterans who have children with birth defects and other disabilities. Here is a story from one of our veterans that has reached out to Birth Defect Research for Children seeking help for children.

“I served four tours in Vietnam. We have three children: one daughter with a heart defect, another with scoliosis and digestive problems, and a son born with a defective optic nerve that has left him blind in the right eye. There is no history of birth defects on either side of our family."

Read how this petition will help veterans' families just like this one.

Veterans’ Center for Children Petition

This is a proposal for a Center to provide diagnosis and treatment of veterans' children with structural and/or functional disabilities. It would include the following:

1) Collect data (National Birth Defect Registry – http://www.birthdefects.org/registry) on the most frequently reported conditions in children of veterans exposed to toxins during military service.

2) Identify specialists in fields most relevant to these conditions; Encourage specialists to work at this Center who have experience in environmental illness and invite them to participate in this project.

3) Construct or adapt an existing hospital/clinic to serve as the proposed Center. The location should be central to make it easier for more families to access.

5) Provide free travel vouchers for one or both parents and the child to visit the center.

6) Provide room, food, and transportation vouchers during the stay.

7) The child or children will be evaluated by the team. A report with diagnosis and treatment recommendations will be provided to the child's primary physician.

8) Periodic reports sent from child's physician (at home) to the Center and (video) conferences held if needed. Physician's time and fees would be funded by the legislation.

9) Child will return to the Center annually or more often until his/her condition is stabilized.

10) Researchers and physicians participating in the Center will collect data for studies to be published. This will expand the Center's experience to the scientific community as a whole.

11) The goal is for the Center to be autonomous, independent, and objective.

Legislative Action:
Oct. 29, 2013, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D CT) introduced S. 1602
a bill to establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs a national center for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during service in the Armed Forces, to provide certain services to those descendants, to establish an advisory board on exposure to toxic substances, and for other purposes.